Overview
Brentford are showing signs of slowing down after a period of high performance. They have only won 1, drawn 1 and lost 3 matches in the last 5 rounds in the Premier League.
The "Bees" have an impressive attack, having scored 32 goals, the fourth best in the league. However, their defense has been extremely vulnerable. With 32 goals conceded, Brentford is the sixth team to have conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season.
Brentford's fragile defense will face a huge test from Arsenal in the upcoming match. Coach Mikel Arteta's team has scored 35 goals in the Premier League this season. At the same time, they have only conceded 16 goals, the second best record in the tournament.
The Gunners' form has been impressive recently, with 11 unbeaten matches in all competitions. However, that does not guarantee an easy match for Arsenal against Brentford.
The loss of Bukayo Saka has caused Arsenal's attacking ability to face many problems. The evidence is that in the last match, they did not create many chances even though they only had to face Ipswich.
Remember, Brentford also has a relatively impressive home form. This season, they have only suffered 1 defeat, the rest are 7 wins and 1 draw when playing at Gtech Community. Brentford has scored 26 goals when playing at their home ground.
Since a 2-0 win over Arsenal in the Premier League in August 2021, Brentford have failed to win in their last five games against the Gunners (D1 L4).
Arsenal have also won their last three away games against Brentford in all competitions without conceding a goal.
Human resources situation
Brentford will be without Kristoffer Ajer, Mathias Jensen, Ethan Pinnock, Sepp van den Berg, Igor Thiago, Aaron Hickey, Josh Dasilva, Rico Henry and Gustavo Nunes.
In addition, the possibility of Mark Flekken and Ben Mee playing is still open after both were injured in the draw with Brighton.
On the other side of the front line, in addition to the injured Saka, Arsenal's Raheem Sterling, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey, Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori are all ready to play.
Expected lineup:
Brentford: Valdimarsson, Roerslev, Collins, Kim, Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Janelt, Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade, Wissa.
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Rice, Havertz, Martinelli, Jesus, Trossard.
The match between Brentford and Arsenal takes place at 0:30 am on January 2 (Vietnam time).
